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Buell to be Discontinued

H-D must have to take all those huge profits made over the past few years and invest it in developing new bits of chrome or coffee mugs, or in their marketing department to convince people the "lifestyle" is cool. You know, if they have to explain it..... I rode a friend's Ulysses and was quite impressed. Just one more reason to despise H-D.

H-D has clearly been a master in licensing and managing its name to third party manufactures of product. Ducati is the only other MC manufacturer to be able to come close to duplicating their success. What did they do with the money? YouÔÇÖre well wide of the mark.
- two examples are in this threads story source. First they purchased and further developed Buell motorcycles. Eric Buell started and ran Buell as an independent and was eventually bought out by H-D. Secondly MV Agusta was purchased by HD with some of that money as well. If a fraction of the leaks and rumors were true riders missed out on the resurrection of the Cagiva Elephant and several Cagiva sport bikes that were reported to be in rapid development in an effort to expand customer base and bring a return on investment.
- H-D has spent a great deal of money going through the hoops and the expense of establishing itself as an exporter to the European market.
- H-D has been is about to enter the India market after several years of effort to overcome import barriers, transport laws and other legal issues.
- A final example of what they have done with those profits is they paid investors dividends. I am not a big fan of the ÔÇÿHarley lifestyleÔÇÖ stuff nor do I purchase H-D branded items, yet I must admit to be a past owner of H-D stock. The dividends paid and the money made by buying and selling H-D stocks is, I suppose, in part responsible for my BMW lifestyle.
:ha

It is easy to make fun of the branding but if you are a fan of motorcycling there is much more to this story and deeper implications for motorcycling than chrome coffee cups.
 
I continue to be mystified by the younger generations not being interested in motorcycles. When I was in my 20's all I could think about was girls, motorcycles and cars, pretty much in that order. Are they all sitting home playing video games and looking at porno?

:ha

There was an order to the thoughts?

I canÔÇÖt multi task worth a darn anymore. I look back fondly on my youth when I could think about girls bikes cars and how to avoid homework all at the same time.

I donÔÇÖt understand why the industry is having troubles attracting new riders and obviously they donÔÇÖt either.
 
Sad. I'm inclined to blame Harley, or at least their dealers. I've been to several Harley dealerships to look at Buells, and one of the common elements is that there wasn't a Buell anywhere near the front of the store. They were usually back in a corner somewhere. In the Allen, Texas dealership that has a second story, the Buells were crammed in a wide spot of a hallway upstairs. :dunno If you walked into the place you wouldn't know a Buell was there unless you were led to them. The floor space was such that Buells were the obvious red headed step child. Maybe that wasn't true nationwide, but it was certainly true in the dealerships I visited.

Its a shame that, other than huge cruisers, there isn't one American motorcycle manufacturer that plays a large role on the international motorcycle stage.
 
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Attention span maybe, but I am not certain price is as important an issue as everyone is ready to make it. The graying of the sport and the industry was taking place long before the current economic crunch.

It may be more along the lines of what BMW experienced in the 50ÔÇÖs. A post war boom in sales then flat and declining while their customer base started wanting cars instead of bikes for transport.

:dunno
 
Paper this morning says Harleys 3rd quarter fell 84%.

I bet all the cookie cutter large HD stores are biting them in the butt.

I'm a good bit younger than a majority on here but I remember when places still had a bit of character. Nothing, I mean nothing has any appeal or individuality anymore. Everything is the same, shoddy and made to replace.

It's the same with communities and not just business, cos everywhere you go it looks the same as everywhere else when the companies move in, take over main street and hang up the golden arches or other crap hocking stupid burgers, over priced fuel, or walmart moves in and takes up an a zillion acres and dollar stores pepper in the cracks. Schools even have business partners placing soda machines in the cafeterias rotting kids guts, seems capitalism has gone a bit wide and I don't mean to start a political thread cos it never goes anywhere. Just a simple vent.

Quantity over quality seems to be our motto.
 
I continue to be mystified by the younger generations not being interested in motorcycles.
I'm just not sure that this is the case, despite the studies and statistics that seem to suggest it. The industry might have overexpanded during the boom years and done so with the mistaken assumption of an ever-increasing upward curve, but a natural plateau accompanied by downward economic trends don't necessarily mean a lessening of base-level interest.

Two or three decades ago when Harley-Davidson was begging the U.S. government to protect them from bankruptcy caused by the onslaught of Japanese bikes, I remember many of the same arguments. I specifically remember mention of Harley attracting only the graying crowd, and that in order to survive Harley needed to attract 20-something riders. Well, HD never really did attract those younger riders until they got old enough, and gray enough to afford HD motorcycles. Harley-Davidson also went on to make a fortune from those graying riders.

Also, my own anecdotal observations are that the roads are packed with younger riders on smaller to mid-sized sport bikes and scooters. I've never seen as many scooter riders in my life as I've seen the past couple of years. I think a logical assumption is that many of these scooter riders will graduate to bigger, more expensive motorcycles.

Yes, the motorcycle industry is definitely set for a consolidation, but I don't see that as necessarily representing disinterest from younger adults. Most of the admiring stares my new R 1200 RT gets is from 20-something year olds — it's mostly just that the price is too high, just like it was for me at that age.
 
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Most of the admiring stares my new R 1200 RT gets is from 20-something year olds ÔÇö it's mostly just that the price is too high, just like it was more me at that age.

Yup. I get the same on my R1200C. Until I mention you can pick one up for under $6K.
When I was 21-22 in the USN I went to a Triumph dealer in S. Callyfornya and the '78 750 was $1850.
Good Luck today. :hungover
 
The Buell Blast! 500cc single was used by H-D Rider's Edge BRC courses all over the nation. IMHO it was a terrible bike on which beginners could learn riding motorcycles. For a beginner it was too heavy. The grabby front brake caused crashes. The clutch was on or off -- no friction zone -- which was hard for beginners to learn to use. It was too powerful and the gearing was too high for learning to ride on an MSF range. Finally, its vibration was fearsome. As an MSF trainer, the Blast was a disaster.

I wonder what Harley will use now for its Rider's Edge courses. If it is smart, it will use beginner-friendly Japanese 250cc training motorcycles. But don't count on it.
 
The loss of jobs over the last 2 years coupled with a down housing market, poor managment / credit policies, fragile economy, and threat of inflation has seen GM and Chrysler go thru bankruptcy. The loss of Buell mc's could be a harbinger of things to come. I hate to see a business failure that is connected with a sport that gives me so much enjoyment. Hopefully HD knows that a failure to service Buell mc's will affect how present/future customers think when looking to purchase a new mc. I was planning on retiring Dec 31st this year but will now probably work until Dec 2012.
Ride Safe :usa :usa
 
The Buell Blast! 500cc single was used by H-D Rider's Edge BRC courses all over the nation. IMHO it was a terrible bike on which beginners could learn riding motorcycles. For a beginner it was too heavy. The grabby front brake caused crashes. The clutch was on or off -- no friction zone -- which was hard for beginners to learn to use. It was too powerful and the gearing was too high for learning to ride on an MSF range. Finally, its vibration was fearsome. As an MSF trainer, the Blast was a disaster.

I wonder what Harley will use now for its Rider's Edge courses. If it is smart, it will use beginner-friendly Japanese 250cc training motorcycles. But don't count on it.

+1 The blast was too much bike for beginners -- during my rider's edge class 3 guys crashed practicing emergency stops. Way too much front brake for beginners.

Mancuso Harley in Houston was running their Rider's Edge class the other day -- on brand new Suzuki 250CC bikes -- not a Buell Blast on the practice range.
 
HarleyÔÇÖs failure to develop Buell was an opportunity lost. Harley does not have a product targeted to younger riders, or riders who want American products, but donÔÇÖt want old tech or the whole clique/bad boy baggage that goes with the brand. If Buell were cultivated to bridge the brand into something modern and efficient then Harley might have something to sell that I would be interested in buying. Tis a pity.
 
No more Buells

Evening ...thought the Womens Forum needed a thread about Buell Motorcycles being discontinued... there seems to be 3 or 4 going on elsewhere:brow

all I have


Enjoy the evening

:wave
 
I continue to be mystified by the younger generations not being interested in motorcycles. When I was in my 20's all I could think about was girls, motorcycles and cars, pretty much in that order. Are they all sitting home playing video games and looking at porno?

Hmmm.........look at their salaries/wages. Young American adults will be definitely poorer than their parents. Today's salary/wage is "before" benefits and retirement. If they have a health or 401(k) plan, their disposible income is probably 15~20% less than what we thought our salary/wage meant 20 or 30-years ago. Also, these young folks are paying ridiculous amounts for rent or mortgages. Oh, and that paid vacation we accumulated, they get less of it.

For kicks, I sometimes show my 1981 employee's benefit booklet from Allis-Chalmer's Corp to young employees. To them, that "Plain Jane" 1981 benefits package looks like something from a fairy tale.

They might do some stupid things, but the young folks are entering a different world than we ever knew. I do pity them.
 
Evening ...thought the Womens Forum needed a thread about Buell Motorcycles being discontinued... there seems to be 3 or 4 going on elsewhere:brow

all I have


Enjoy the evening

:wave

We're trying to keep this to one thread. You have been assimilated into the collective, resistance is futile.
 
H-D has clearly been a master in licensing and managing its name to third party manufactures of product. Ducati is the only other MC manufacturer to be able to come close to duplicating their success. What did they do with the money? YouÔÇÖre well wide of the mark.
- two examples are in this threads story source. First they purchased and further developed Buell motorcycles. Eric Buell started and ran Buell as an independent and was eventually bought out by H-D. Secondly MV Agusta was purchased by HD with some of that money as well. If a fraction of the leaks and rumors were true riders missed out on the resurrection of the Cagiva Elephant and several Cagiva sport bikes that were reported to be in rapid development in an effort to expand customer base and bring a return on investment.
- H-D has spent a great deal of money going through the hoops and the expense of establishing itself as an exporter to the European market.
- H-D has been is about to enter the India market after several years of effort to overcome import barriers, transport laws and other legal issues.
- A final example of what they have done with those profits is they paid investors dividends. I am not a big fan of the ÔÇÿHarley lifestyleÔÇÖ stuff nor do I purchase H-D branded items, yet I must admit to be a past owner of H-D stock. The dividends paid and the money made by buying and selling H-D stocks is, I suppose, in part responsible for my BMW lifestyle.
:ha

It is easy to make fun of the branding but if you are a fan of motorcycling there is much more to this story and deeper implications for motorcycling than chrome coffee cups.

IMHO, the real story will be found in the meltdown of H-D Financial Services. Remember money was cheap and all debt was AAA rated. That isn't the case today.
 
I continue to be mystified by the younger generations not being interested in motorcycles. When I was in my 20's all I could think about was girls, motorcycles and cars, pretty much in that order. Are they all sitting home playing video games and looking at porno?

Well I'm 25 and am not really sure if I fit into your "younger generation" category, but I own an airhead and love it, do have friends that ride bikes, however not any in my age category (all 40+ years of age). I wouldn't say that the younger crowd is too busy watching porn and playing videos games, I'd say it has alot more to do with roads and economics.

I'm married, live in a super congested area, own a ****ty 200k house (and that is on a cheap 37.5x100 ft lot - NJ/NY prices there), pay the highest property taxes in the nation, and work very hard to enjoy a middle class lifestyle (if there's such a thing anymore). I can't justify spending the money on a new motorcycle when there are cars out there that can transport more people and drive comfortably all year round for less than a bike is going for.

My friends who don't own homes pay rents between $800-1200 a month (for studio apts, again, NJ prices here) and are turned off by local gridlock and aggressive drivers in very small spaces. The first day I had my bike (and this is no exaggeration) I had to avoid a dumptruck running a red light, a sportscar switching into my lane (180 degrees from me) without looking (while on a cell phone), and people up my ass in traffic for the entire ride to work.

Alot of people I work with either can't afford it or simply don't want to deal with the dangers and frustrations of the area. I'm fortunate enough to be able to wrench on my own stuff and love the old stuff to avoid high prices of bikes and mechanics, but I'm the minority in my area.

I apologize for the long post, but like another guy said, alot of kids are and will be making less, with much less benefits, than their parents and this topioc gets me going
 
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